Media Matters Daily Summary

Here are today's news items from Media Matters for America, click on the title or 'read more' to read the entirety of each story. Conservative media fearmonger that Fox News is part of White House "enemies list" Following White House criticism of Fox News for its ideological slant, conservative media figures are again fearmongering that the White House has an "enemies list," and that Fox News is -- in the words of Glenn Beck -- "another enemy" that "warmongers" in the Obama administration would fight with "missiles pointed right at Fox." Sean Hannity claimed the White House is "promising retribution," and conservative radio host Mark Levin said, "[L]et me be clear -- there is an enemies list, a political hit list that this administration has. Just as Castro did, and Chavez and Stalin." Read More Washington Examiner falsehood: "$373 million in stimulus money for better vending machine food" On October 14, The Washington Examiner ran the false headline, "Michelle: $373 million in stimulus money for better vending machine food." However, Michelle Obama, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Examiner article itself contradict the headline; HHS will award $373 million to communities through a competitive grant process for "comprehensive" programs -- one component of which could include healthier  vending machine food -- that would "reduce obesity." Read More Serial smearer Corsi's explanation for mortgage bubble loaded with falsehoods aimed at Dems Appearing on Hannity to promote his latest book, America for Sale, author Jerome Corsi purported to explain the causes of the mortgage bubble by advancing a litany of falsehoods and misinformation: repeating the myth that the Community Reinvestment Act was responsible for the bubble; claiming that President Obama was tied to the housing bubble through conservative bogeyman ACORN; and falsely suggesting that Obama lowered interest rates to "zero or close to zero." Corsi has previously written falsehood-laden books about Obama and Sen. John Kerry, has claimed that Obama posted online a "false, fake birth certificate," and has a history of controversial comments about Islam, Catholicism, progressives, and other matters. Read More Fox and other media conservatives still in denial about cost and popularity of public option Fox News personalities and other conservative media figures have recently claimed or suggested either that a public health insurance option is unpopular among the American public, that it is costly, or both. But they ignored that numerous major public opinion polls contradict their claims; that both the House and Senate health care reform bills require the public plan to be self-sustaining; that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) concluded that a public option did "not have a substantial effect on the cost" of the Senate health committee bill; and that numerous experts agree that a public plan is important to help control the cost of health care. Read More You can help support our work; become a volunteer media monitor, or donate to Media Matters for America.